As an industry observer, I thought that I should share stories about lenders that are growing these days, I learned that AmeriFirst Financial Corporation is expanding its footprint to the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains with the opening of a new branch in Southern California. The branch is located in Rancho Cucamonga, a suburban city 40 miles east of Los Angeles, and serves as the first retail site for the independent mortgage lender in the state of California.

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It will operate as a full-service home loan center staffed by a total of 12 loan officers and a support team who will provide a full range of purchase and refinance loan options. These include conventional, FHA, VA and USDA loans, as well as AmeriFirst’s specialized products – renovation and construction mortgages.

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The new office is located at 12505 N. Main Street, Suite 260. It will operate under the name, “AmeriTrust Home Mortgage” to avoid confusion with Amerifirst Financial, Inc., who also operates in the southwest region.

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“We are excited to be working with the great folks in southern California as we continue to expand our reach in helping our neighbors achieve the American dream of home ownership,” said Mark Jones, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of AmeriFirst. “We are excited to offer our strong service proposition – high quality, high touch customer service – to residents of southern California. We also are committed to educating first-time homebuyers on the power of home ownership as a tool for building home equity and personal wealth and matching loan products that meet their individual needs.”

This expansion comes on the heels of the 35-year-old mortgage lender’s growth in central Florida in late 2017. At that time, it opened new branches in Winter Park and Tampa for a total of six full-service branches in the state. Headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, AmeriFirst employs over 600 team members and provides home financing opportunities for thousands of families each year, especially in rural and underserved communities and among first-time homebuyers. It operates in branches across nearly a dozen states in the Midwest and Southeast regions and was recently recognized by Inc. 5000 for its 78 percent growth over a three-year period.

About The Author

Tony Garritano is chairman and founder at PROGRESS in Lending Association. As a speaker Tony has worked hard to inform executives about how technology should be a tool used to further business objectives. For over 10 years he has worked as a journalist, researcher and speaker in the mortgage technology space. Starting this association was the next step for someone like Tony, who has dedicated his career to providing mortgage executives with the information needed to make informed technology decisions. He can be reached via e-mail at tony@progressinlending.com.